A couple swap city life for the country, but their picturesque new hometown turns out to be just a little bit different to what they were expecting.A couple swap city life for the country, but their picturesque new hometown turns out to be just a little bit different to what they were expecting.A couple swap city life for the country, but their picturesque new hometown turns out to be just a little bit different to what they were expecting.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Madolyn Smith Osborne
- Elizabeth Farmer
- (as Madolyn Smith)
Kit Le Fever
- Young Operator
- (as Le Fevre)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This movie is funny. I don't know why it has such low ratings. I like the sarcasm involved in having a married couple from the city moving out to a farm. This is a movie that I recommend to anyone who wishes to have a few laughs watching Chevy Chase and his superb timing for acting in comedies such as this one.
I wouldn't say this is one of Chevy Chase's best films, but this one still has some good things to offer. There is a fair amount of good laughs and an entertaining story, but not as great as some of Chevy's other credits.
Chevy Chase does a fine job with his role, playing a very similar character to most of his other films. Chevy is good at what he does and doesn't seem to stray very far from what works. Madolyn Smith-Osborne is fantastic in the film, looking just gorgeous and playing her role very well. The only other actors that were familiar to me were the movers in the beginning of the film, Mike Starr and Glen Plummer. Both actors do a fine job, although very small roles in the film.
If you are a fan of Chevy Chase, then I'd recommend seeing this film, you'll probably enjoy it. But, if Chevy Chase isn't your cup of tea, then this may not be the film for you. In any case, if you do see it, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading,
-Chris
Chevy Chase does a fine job with his role, playing a very similar character to most of his other films. Chevy is good at what he does and doesn't seem to stray very far from what works. Madolyn Smith-Osborne is fantastic in the film, looking just gorgeous and playing her role very well. The only other actors that were familiar to me were the movers in the beginning of the film, Mike Starr and Glen Plummer. Both actors do a fine job, although very small roles in the film.
If you are a fan of Chevy Chase, then I'd recommend seeing this film, you'll probably enjoy it. But, if Chevy Chase isn't your cup of tea, then this may not be the film for you. In any case, if you do see it, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading,
-Chris
I think this is a great film that Chevy Chase did. If anyone has ever lived in a small town they can relate. The writing is great, the comedy is great, and Chevy is great. I recommend this flick to anyone that is an avid Chevy film watcher.
I recently rewatched this having seen it many, many years ago and remembering nothing of it. I stumbled upon some old Siskel and Ebert reviews on YouTube, and they had very mixed opinions about Chevy Chase and his movies. They thought he was a fairly one note actor playing a smart aleck type but did occasionally get some good scripts. However their praise for this film was extremely enthusiastic saying it was Chase's best work. Chase has had a career that has been very hit and miss. His best movie work was in the 70's and 80's and during the 90's he made some very bad career choices like his failed short-lived talk show, and picking bad scripts. But knowing Siskel and Ebert's love for this film and considering it was in the decade of Chase's better work, I had to give it another try, and boy am I ever happy I did. This movie was pure joy all throughout. Every gag worked, the acting was good, Chase had a chance to show lots more range here than in some of his previous (and certainly subsequent) films and no I dont agree with other reviews that say he was just playing Clark Griswold again here. His performance in this is fine comic acting. Madolyn Smith also gave a great performance as his wife. If the movie didn't have a great joke or visual gag, it was gorgeous to look at. The scenery and camerawork are simply dazzling and beautifully done for a comedy. George Roy Hill who directed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting directed this and does great with the material that writer Jeffrey Boam adapted from a book. This film was sadly overlooked because of strong competition in the summer of 88 when it came out. It came out on the same exact day as the Tom Hanks classic Big and suffered from competition with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Crocodile Dundee II, The Great Outdoors, and Die Hard among others. While it may not be a "classic" like the aforementioned films, it is noteworthy as just delightful comedic filmmaking from beginning to end and the last truly great film Chevy Chase made. In the 90's he made Man of the House and Vegas Vacation and they were the only two films he did that decade that were decent and not failures. But this ranks high along with Chevy's best 80's movies like Caddyshack, the Vacations Fletch and Three Amigos! Anyone who says Chevy Chase was never funny is mistaken. This film is proof that he is a very funny, talented comic actor with the right script. He found a diamond before the rough came. This is a good, fun comedy his best after the first Vacation. If you need proof that Chevy Chase at one point was a great comic actor you must see this movie. He really shines in this one.
This film has some pretty negative and ho-hum comments. I won't say it's his best, but this is still a great film for fans of Chevy Chase. There are a number of good laughs, even if the comedy isn't nonstop like today's ADHD movie-goers demand. Every so often, someone in my family will say "Cue the deer," and we still have a good chuckle every time. Just one of the all-time classic lines in a classic comedy sequence that is really the lasting mark of this film. The telephone operator scene, and all the dog scenes are just great for laughs, too. Really, this film falls into that "Saturday afternoon on USA" sort of category, like PCU and Used Cars. You wouldn't go rent it perhaps, but if it came on TV some afternoon, it's always worth a watch.
Did you know
- TriviaChevy Chase says this is his favorite of his own movies.
- GoofsDuring the meeting with the lawyers about the divorce, Mrs. Farmer mentions that July is seven months away, meaning it is December. Yet, in the next exterior shot we see the grass is green and the leaves are still on the trees.
- Quotes
Sheriff Ledbetter: Remember, Mrs. Farmer. Whenever you buy a house, whatever's in the ground belongs to you - whether it's gold or oil... or Claude Musselman.
- Alternate versionsTo receive a PG certificate the 1989 UK video version was cut by 3 secs by the BBFC to remove one use of 'fuck you' and several uses of 'shit'.
- SoundtracksWiegenlied (Lullaby) Op. 49 No. 4
(uncredited)
Written by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Elizabeth Farmer
- How long is Funny Farm?Powered by Alexa
- Is this based on a book?
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $25,537,221
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,655,439
- Jun 5, 1988
- Gross worldwide
- $25,537,221
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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